Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. ZIMBABWE risks losing moral and economic direction by elevating material success and status over purpose-driven leadership, business leader and philanthropist Nigel Chanakira has warned.
Speaking at the ongoing In Conversation with Trevor Ideas Festival in Nyanga yesterday, Chanakira said a culture of celebrating wealth, luxury and power, rather than service, innovation and integrity was weakening the country’s corporate and social foundation.
“There’s a certain model of leadership that is beginning to compete with people who are purpose-driven,” he said.
“Leadership is not the title, it’s the corner office, it’s that unshakable authority. It’s the materialism that’s creeping in (that is disturbing) and I’m seeing more and more of that here in Zimbabwe. It’s a shell without a soul.”
Chanakira said the rise in leaders celebrated for display of wealth rather than substance signals a dangerous shift in national values.
“Somebody remarked the other day that we’re giving out cars like confetti here and we’re losing the soul of the nation in the process.
“We’ve got the wrong heroes beginning to emerge and ‘sheroes’ as well,” he said.
Chanakira urged corporate leaders to recognise that “profit without purpose is actually empty and progress without people is meaningless,” saying Zimbabwe should return to leadership rooted in service and long-term impact.
“Purpose is the reason for which something exists or must be done or used. It’s an intended desire or result that we are looking for and with good leadership, there’s a determination that’s at the core of it that will not be denied, that it is imperative that we achieve something, a practical result that changes lives, a desire to act with good purpose, good intent, good design.
“So I came to provoke you, if anything, that whether it’s a company, a little company that you’re running, it’s not a mission statement drafted by a committee or framed in the reception area somewhere or some target that we’re chasing. I think it’s your why, the reason for being.”
He challenged executives to redefine leadership away from privilege and perks.
“The first thing we go for is what car will I drive, what will I earn,” he said.
“Leadership is not a title, it’s a calling.”
To demonstrate the importance of shared direction, Chanakira led delegates in an exercise to point north with their eyes closed, which saw each of them pointing in a different direction.
“Do you think we would ever get to the north star? Absolutely not,” he said.
“Purpose speaks to a north star, what I call the true north.”
He called on leaders to serve with compassion, courage and consciousness, and to invest in building a new generation of purposeful young people. The businessman added that purpose is the heartbeat of leadership and without it one may have motion, but not meaning.
Chanakira challenged delegates to lead, not to impress, but to impact.
“Lead with purpose and your leadership will outlive you. See you at the top, because the bottom is overcrowded,” he said.
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